October 1st, 00:01 EDT marked the official beginning of the 2025 government shutdown. Congress cannot agree on a budget for the year and without a budget, the government cannot function and therefore is shutdown. To have a successful vote, the Senate must pass a budget bill with a 60-40 majority vote. The closest they have come to approving a GOP bill is 55-41 on October 15th.

At the time of this publication, the GOP bill has failed to pass thirteen times. The reason that they are having such a difficult time passing a bill is that the Democratic Party is fighting for a budget that will keep the cost of healthcare low, available for all Americans, and reverse the recent cuts to Medicaid. The Republican Party does not want to address this within the budget bill and instead wants to explore it as a separate issue, creating the divide.

The longest shutdown in history was from December 2018 to January 2o19 under President Donald Trump and lasted 35 days. As a result of this shutdown, the US lost 3 billion dollars off of our GDP, the economy experienced reduced economic output by 11 billion dollars, and the federal government was delayed by 18 billion dollars.

WhiteHouse.gov has an upward-ticking counter, demonstrating the length of the shutdown, with the text “Democrats Have Shut Down The Government.” The House of Representatives and the Senate are both controlled by the Republican Party at this time. Despite needing a 60/40 vote, the U.S. Government continues to pin the blame on the Democratic Party, continuing a trend of removing the blame from themselves and putting it on another group or person. 

How does this affect Adel’s Community?

With government shutdowns, government services such as WIC, Veterans Affairs, FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), among other things, are shut down. Many people in Adel rely on these services daily, sometimes without realizing it. 

The Adel Public Library is the home of the Women, Infants, and Children program in Adel. There are several branches of this program all over Dallas County and the United States, all serving to help low-income families in need get food. With winter fast approaching, WIC is an incredibly important program to have up and running for these families who rely on it. 

In an interview with Sergeant Dirksen, he said, “As far as the Sheriff’s Department, and I’m sure it’s the same with the Adel [police department], we haven’t been affected by the shutdown.” Sergeant Dirksen replied regarding how the shutdown has affected our local departments. Dirksen expects this to continue, “Unless this shutdown lasts upwards of a year or more… I wouldn’t expect to see anything on the local level with our [police department] and Sheriff’s Office… Dallas County has always been in good standing and has been pretty proactive with budgeting and keeping ahead of potential issues, even more than the State.”

Based on the current knowledge of the shutdown, WIC can remain operational as long as the shutdown remains short-term. When the shutdown enters the 30-day mark, that’s when things get a little tricky, and WIC may have to close its benefits temporarily.

About 42 million people nationwide, including some in Adel, rely on SNAP benefits. SNAP stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and helps struggling people and families afford food through EBT cards and food stamps. November 1st will mark the 31-day mark of the shutdown, and SNAP will stop receiving any money.

With all of this in mind, Adel is currently at risk for major struggles with food, and potentially more as the shutdown continues.

You can help people in Adel who will struggle the most.

You never know when you may be the one who needs these resources. Any amount of donations would help many people on the verge of food struggles as the shutdown continues.